The IRS once again denied false information circulating on social media about supposed monitoring of transactions via Pix to collect taxes.
In an official note issued this Wednesday (14), the organization states that there is no taxation on Pix nor supervision of financial transactions for this purposea practice prohibited by the Federal Constitution.
According to the IRS, alarmist messages about “Pix tax” or “transfer tax” are completely false. Pix is just a means of payment, like cash or card, and does not, in itself, generate any type of tax.
Rumors cite the Normative Instruction No. 2,278from August last year, as if it authorized the tracking of individual transactions.
According to the Tax Authorities, the rule only extends to fintechs the same transparency obligations already applied to traditional banks, within the rules to combat money laundering and the hiding of assets. There is no access to individual values, origin or nature of citizens’ expenses.
To the false information has gained strength again on social media in the last few hours, after deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) once again published videos in which he states that the government will monitor Pix again. Two weeks ago, the Tax authorities had issued another fake news alert about taxation of financial transactions.
According to the IRS, this type of content aims to deceive the population, generate financial panic and weaken trust in one of the country’s main payment methods. The agency also states that the dissemination of these messages serves the interests of organized crime and people who benefit from the monetization and engagement generated by fake news.
What the normative instruction says
The Revenue clarifies that the August normative instruction does not deal with taxation or monitoring of financial transactions. The body reiterates that the rule only extends to fintechs and payment institutions the same transparency obligations already applied to traditional banks since 2015.
The information passed on to the Tax Authorities does not detail individual transactions, nor does it allow identifying the origin or nature of users’ expenses.
According to the Revenue, the This measure is essential to prevent fintechs from being used by criminal organizations for money laundering and hiding assets, as identified in recent police operations.
IR reform
In the same statement, the IRS highlighted true information that has been distorted on the networks. Since January, Anyone who receives up to R$5,000 per month is completely exempt from Income Tax. For income up to R$7,350, there is a discount on the amount due.
These changes, according to the Tax Authorities, have no relationship with Pix, transaction monitoring or creation of new taxes.
How to protect yourself from scams
The Federal Revenue warns that the spread of rumors about taxes and Pix creates a favorable environment for scams. Criminals take advantage of misinformation to send false messages via social networks, telephone and applications such as WhatsApp, trying to coerce victims, request undue payments or obtain personal data.
For the agency, this type of practice is dangerous because it expands the scope of the crime and puts the population at risk.
The Federal Revenue’s guidance is to be wary of alarmist messages, avoid sharing content without a reliable source and seek information from official government channels or professional press outlets.
Messages that request payments, personal data or “regularizations” related to Pix and taxes should be treated as scam attempts.
